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We Have to Become Living Examples
Our organisation is judged by our behaviour and by our actions.
By our misbehaviour we are damaging the reputation of our organisation.
It is very painful that even in the smallest of our behaviour pattern,
interpersonal relationship, we have not been able to change ourselves,
regulate our behaviour, conduct ourselves as we should. It would be
a great pity if freedom is to be interpreted as some sort of licence.
Because, as you know, in Sahaj Marg, we don't enforce discipline or
rules of conduct, because the Master believes that these things should
come from inside ourselves, by our love, growing love for Him, attraction
towards His spiritual values and the inner need to live as we should.
Master expects us to develop a certain sense of responsibility to the
organisation, to ourselves, to the Master. A child of three can take
a ten rupee note and put it in the fire playfully, not knowing the difference
between the ordinary paper and the currency note. But if a boy of 20
puts a ten rupee note into the chula, what will you do with him? So
Master expected of us that we would grow out of that childish innocence
and become responsible adults to whom the Mission could be entrusted,
to whom their personal spiritual growth could be entrusted, to whom
the transformation of the external self could be entrusted, because
Babuji said, "The inner change I can bring about. The outer is
your responsibility." He never undertook the responsibility for
the outer change. He said, "Behaviour you have to correct; morals
and ethics you have to develop. This is your work upon yourself; you
know what to do. There is nothing difficult about it."
If you want your Master's name held up high in the world, Sahaj Marg
be thought of well all over the world, and practice by the rest of humanity
everywhere, you have to be examples of that tradition, by your behaviour
not only in satsangh, but everywhere, at night in your beds also, in
your offices, in your business activities. There is no point in a businessman
saying, "Sir, business cannot be done except with the corrupt practices."
Then don't do business. If you have faith in the Master, He will continue
to clothe you and feed you. After all we are saying from rooftops, that
Babuji had Lalaji's permission or Lord Krishna's guarantee that a real
abhyasi of Sahaj Marg will never go hungry or unclothed. You have that
guarantee from the Yuga Purusha, you see.
There is no use in proclaiming ourselves to be Indians and living for
ourselves. I am an Indian only if I live for India! I am a world citizen
only if I live for the world! I am a human being only if I am human
in my outlook, human in my approach, human in my behaviour and human
in my generosity, in my love, in my capacity to die for others! If I
am only acquiring wealth, name and fame for myself, amassing it in my
bank vaults, well, forgive me when I say we are no humans, leave alone
Indians or citizens of the world.
So there is no use trying to justify our corruption by society's corruption.
The society is corrupt because we are corrupt. So this is the opportunity
that is given to us of correcting ourselves, and each one showing himself,
for what Sahaj Marg can produce. That is Master's greatness. And if
we continue to live as we are living, corrupt lives, inhuman lives,
lying lives, cheating lives - cheating ourselves and cheating everybody
else, it is a shameful repayment of Master's generosity and love. And
it will be an unfortunate betrayal of His teachings, of His practice,
and of all that He lived for, suffered for and died for.
So it casts upon us a fantastic responsibility - I may even say a terrible
responsibility - that every one of us has to become a torchbearer
of the Master, and he who does not hold the torch aloft fails not
only the Master, but also fails himself. I would request you to bear
all this in mind when you speak, when you go out into the streets, that
it is not the badge which makes us Sahaj Marg abhyasis, it is our condition,
it is our character, it is our behaviour. This totality of human existence
must be reflected in the Sahaj Marg abhyasi.
So I would request you all to remember that we, a few thousands of
abhyasis of today should consider ourselves - each one of us - the flag
bearers, the standard bearers of Sahaj Marg and remember we have an
enormous responsibility and if we have to die for it, we must be prepared
to die for it. Otherwise it is better we remove our badges and go back
to our old existence. How many of you can rise to this challenge, I
don't know. But I pray that all of you would be able to do it.
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